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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. I 



Chap. BXlW 



Shelf -, 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



s 



3 



ir 



EXTRACTS 



FROM 



THE PAPERS 



/ 

EDWIN PRICE, 



LATE OF 



NEATH ABBEY, GLAMORGANSHIRE. 



WITH 



Some Account of his last Illness and Death. 



1881 




PHILADE 
FOR SALE AT FRIENDS' BOOK STORE, 

No. 304 ARCH STREET. 

1859. 



TV 



<\<\4 



%* f* 



C. SHERMAN & SON, PRINTERS, 
S. W. Corner of Seventh and Cherry Sts., Philadelphia. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Being desirous that my near friends 
and relations should be gratified in the 
wish, expressed by many of them, to pos- 
sess a copy of the little journal kept by 
his sisters, of the illness and death of 
my dear son, Edwin, we are induced to 
have a few copies printed for their use ;* 
particularly for those who so nearly par- 
ticipated with us in the close trial, and 
by every tender attention sought to soften 
the affliction to his family ; five of whom, 
with another dear friend, were his imme- 

* The first edition was printed solely for gratui- 
tous distribution, as here described ; but it being 
thought desirable for the account to have a wider 
circulation, leave was obtained to print an edition 
for sale. 



diate attendants, and witnesses of his 
sufferings, and of the consolation which, 
through unmerited mercy, w T as vouchsafed 
at that awful season. Thankful shall I 
feel, if the dying testimony of this inte- 
resting and upright-hearted young man, 
may prove a stimulus to us who remain, 
to stand ready for the same awful sum- 
mons, whether in a protracted or more 
sudden manner. 

When a child, he manifested much re- 
ligious thoughtfulness, and a strong con- 
viction of the unlimited goodness and 
pov/er of the Almighty, the sense of 
which, I trust, was never so effaced as to 
permit him to think or speak lightly of 
the Christian Religion, and the instruc- 
tions afforded to us in the Holy Scrip- 
tures ; although, from the liveliness of his 
disposition, and a high spirit, he was, at 
one time, in considerable danger of de- 
parting from the simplicity and plainness 
of that religious profession in which he 
had been educated. 



In the year 1816, he attended the 
Yearly Meeting in London, with which 
he was much interested, and expressed 
his design never to omit attending 
future solemnities of this sort if in his 
power. 

Of the awful circumstances which oc- 
curred to him soon after his return from 
this journey, and the gradual progress of 
religious care to walk acceptably in the 
Divine sight, we find some account in a 
diary, which he was induced to keep as 
an incitement to more watchfulness over 
his thoughts and actions; from which 
many of the following remarks are ex- 
tracted. 

It was commenced in the 7th month, 
1816, soon after his recovery from the 
effects of an injury he received, by an 
explosion of fire-damp in a Colliery, 
whilst attending to a part of his business 
there ; and by which he narrowly escaped 

1* 



instant death. The danger to which he 
had been exposed, and the preservation 
of his life under circumstances so peril- 
ous, awakened in his breast devout grati- 
tude to the Great Author of all our mer- 
cies, and induced increased solicitude, 
that, in his future progress, he might 
give the more earnest heed to the right 
regulation of his heart and conduct, and 
so learn to number his days that he might 
apply his heart unto wisdom. 

Anna Price. 

Neath Abbey, 3d month, 1819. 



EXTRACTS, ETC. 



25th of 7th month, 1816. Rose and 
read a chapter in my Bible, as usual. 
Felt pleased and affected with the pic- 
ture of Abraham's willingness to offer up 
his only darling son a sacrifice to his 
God : What a pattern of obedience to 
the Almighty does his whole life exhi- 
bit ! 

26th. I now go under ground at 
the Colliery, for the first time since the 
accident that occurred to me there on the 
12th of 6th month, two days after my 
return from the Yearly Meeting. Every 
time I go down, I think reflection on the 
great uncertainty of time is brought more 
completely home to me ; although I feel 



8 



nothing like fear. I firmly believe, that 
whilst I am engaged in paying attention 
to necessary business, if I exercise pru- 
dence and care, no accident will befall 
me ; at least none but such as are de- 
signed by a merciful God, to bring about 
some good effect ; and if such should be 
permitted to occur, I trust He will ena- 
ble me to bear them with resignation and 
fortitude. On my return from the Col- 
liery, I could but feel thankful to the 
great Dispenser of all good, for having 
once more permitted me to see the face 
of the sun. 

On a retrospect of this day, I feel 
comfortable, having been preserved in a 
degree of watchfulness. [He remarks, 
on reading the Testament]: The more 
I read this book, the more does it appear 
to contain ; scarcely a paragraph, but 
some instruction may be derived from it ; 
and great comfort and consolation to the 
mind which is sincerely desirous of being 
benefited. 



29th. [Speaking of a painful occur- 
rence, he says] : I endeavor, under this 
as any other trial, to look up for support 
to the One Eternal Being, who is both 
able and willing to render it to all w T ho, 
with sincerity and humility, make appli- 
cation to Him ; but the last of these is 
a virtue, which of all others, I think, I 
find the greatest difficulty in attaining ; 
yet there is scarcely any which I more 
sincerely desire : but it is very difficult 
for the proud man to bend, although as- 
sured that without it no entrance will be 
found into those regions of bliss, " where 
the wicked cease from troubling and the 
weary are at rest/' How much more apt 
are we to repine at any little adverse cir- 
cumstance, and dwell on that, as an un- 
deserved punishment, than we are to re- 
joice and feel thankful for all the benefits 
we enjoy, compared to what is the lot of 
thousands of our fellow-creatures ! 

8th month, 1st. At a meeting to-day 



10 



I endeavored to fix my mind, as much as 
possible, on the importance of attending 
to my religious duties ; and when I con- 
sider the objects for which I am called 
into existence, and how little time I em- 
ploy in seeking to carry them into effect, 
I cannot help feeling struck with a sense 
of my own deficiencies. Only a few 
hours in a week publicly set apart for the 
purpose of worshipping the Almighty — 
and to think that even this little time 
should not be properly employed, is really 
grievous ! 



On the 9th, he speaks of meeting with 
an acquaintance, who, in the course of 
conversation, swore a great deal, as he 
was apt, inconsiderately, frequently to do. 
On this, Edwin remarks : " I was shocked 
at the time, but did not reprove him, or 
make any remark ; for which I feel sorry : 
I believe it is a duty we owe to others, to 
endeavor to draw them out of their vi- 
cious propensities/ ' 



11 



Early in the year 1817, he removed to 
London, with a view of establishing him- 
self in business. There he was first affect- 
ed by the disease which afterwards proved 
fatal. He remarks, on the 7th of the 4th 
month, " I was rather alarmed, as I was 
going from 'Change, by a violent fit of 
coughing, which brought up blood, a cir- 
cumstance which never before occurred to 
me. Such a symptom serves afresh to 
bring to my recollection the uncertainty 
of time. This very thing may be the cause 
of my death : oh! that I may be prepared !" 

In the course of the 5th month, whilst 
still an invalid in London, he wrote the 
following letter to one of his brothers in 
the country : — 

" My dear , 



" I sit me down without knowing in par- 
ticular what I have to say, though with a 
sort of general impression that I have a 
good deal. I hope I am never very de- 



12 



ficient in love towards any of you ; but 
to-day, I think I have felt it abound more 
than usual. I wish I could impart in 
writing what I sometimes feel ; but that 
seems impossible ; nor could I perhaps 
do it better, if we were engaged face to 
face : it is what I believe can seldom be 
more than felt, and that only at times, 
and those too not altogether at our com- 
mand, though I am persuaded they are 
much more within our reach than we may 
at all times be aware of. It is for want 
of cultivating an inclination in our own 
minds towards the Source of all good, 
that we do not more frequently and more 
strongly feel that love towards our fellow- 
creatures, which is a foretaste of the re- 
ward of righteousness. 

" To be able to feel this love, which 
springs from a source so pure, is incom- 
parably delightful: felt but in a slight 
degree, it exceeds all that the most glit- 
tering prospects of the world can afford. 



13 



Under its influence, I sometimes think I 
could retire contentedly from the troubles 
and gratifications of the world, well sa- 
tisfied with enough to provide me simply 
with food and raiment. For when I con- 
sider the end and object of our existence, 
and the best means of obtaining this, I do 
think that a very little with contentment, 
is better than abundance of riches and the 
temptations which are their accompani- 
ments : and I have been led to see and 
feel, that it will be better for me to retire 
into the country quietly. I am confident 
it will be better for me eventually ; more 
for my eternal interest and welfare ; and 

this, my dear is before all temporals ; 

for what can a man give in exchange for 
his soul ? This is indeed what we ought 
most to value ; but our natures are striv- 
ing in an opposite direction ; and nothing 
but Divine grace will enable us effectually 
to counteract their operation. For this, 
then, let us endeavor to pray ; if we do it 
in faith, with sincerity and humility, I 

2 



14 



feel persuaded it will not be denied to us. 
Oh ! how I wish thou couldst be here 
sometimes, to participate in the refresh- 
ment which the mind really derives from 
the opportunities which this annual feast 
affords ! I esteem it a particular favor 
to be a partaker, and should enjoy it 
much more, I think, did all those about 
whom I feel the warmest interest share 
with me." 

Soon after this, he was seized with in- 
flammation of the lungs, which rendered 
bleeding, and much reduction of the 
system, necessary. As soon as he reco- 
vered a little from this attack, he was 
carefully conveyed home, where he re- 
mained under parental care, till towards 
the fall of the year, when being advised 
to winter in a more southern climate, he 
proceeded with that view, to Falmouth, 
intending to embark from thence. 

A few extracts from letters w T ritten to 



15 



a young friend, during this period, prove 
how much his mind was occupied with the 
contemplation of subjects of the first im- 
portance ; one, in • particular, will show 
with what sentiments he even then looked 
towards the probable termination of his 
disorder. It was written at a time when 
the state of his health rendered it neces- 
sary for him to absent himself, for a few 
days, from his father's house, where a 
large circle of friends and relations were 
assembled. 

" Oystermouth, 11th of 8th mo. 1817. 

" Thou wilt see, by the date of this, 
that I am obliged to separate myself from 
all those dear relations now at our house, 
from whose society, did my health admit, 
I should derive so much pleasure. The 
privation, thou mayest imagine, is no 
small trial to me ; but to remain with 
them, would be the height of injustice to 
myself: my general bodily strength is 
much improved, but my lungs are still 



16 

too delicate to bear the exertion of talk- 
ing ; and though I feel it my duty to do 
what appears best, in order to recover, I 
cannot say I am at all sanguine that that 
effect will be ultimately produced. In- 
deed I feel almost certain that this at- 
tack will terminate my trials here ; and 
unless I can feel assured that, in re-enter- 
ing on the busy world, I should be pre- 
vented from giving way to its various al- 
lurements and temptations, I sincerely 
hope that it may ; trusting, as I some- 
times humbly do, that before it pleases 
the Almighty to take me, I may be pre- 
pared to go, and feel assurance of accep- 
tance with him in everlasting peace : a 
reward far beyond my merits, and more 
to be desired than anything" this world 
can afford. I feel exceedingly desirous 
that we may none of us neglect the 
means of obtaining it, whilst it is in our 
power ; for we know T not the day or hour 
when we may be deprived of the oppor- 
tunity for amendment. A death-bed re- 



17 



pentance is too precarious a thing to be 
trusted ! 

" My mind has often been turned lat- 
terly to the first commandment, on love 
to God ; and it would be ungrateful in 
the extreme if we did not love him ; but 
is it not left too much to profession ? Do 
we love him with all our hearts ? Oh, 
no ! only examine ; if we did thoroughly, 
no earthly woes could trouble us so much 
as they do ; that feeling would so humble 
us, that the storms of life would blow 
over our heads, and at the same time 
it would so exalt us, as to carry us above 
all that this dark abode can furnish to 
molest us. - May this, then, be our prin- 
cipal aim ! Let us endeavor to keep our 
minds steadfastly turned heavenward; 
seek first that kingdom, and all things 
necessary will be added ! This will sup- 
port us in the fulfilment of our outward 
duties ; and will alike contribute to our 
2* 



18 



happiness, whether in prosperity or in ad- 
versity/' 

In another letter he observes : " I feel 
my own weakness ; I know nothing can 
be done without humility ; and for ability 
to subdue my own proud heart, I endea- 
vor to pray. This, I trust, will be 
granted ; indeed I feel confident that 
where there is an earnest desire after 
good, the door will not be shut ; but con- 
tinual watchfulness is very necessary, and 
with it all, how difficult to avoid the mul- 
titude of snares set for us on every side !" 



25th of 10th month. I propose taking 
my voyage to Naples — the prospect ap- 
pears on a near approach more formida- 
ble. I desire that I may be enabled 
throughout to support the character which 
approaches nearest to that of our great 
Example ; but I feel that I shall have 
many temptations to deviate. I must walk 
humbly, and keep a close watch. 



19 



lltb month, 1st. I have given way 
too much to my natural volatility, under 
the influence of which I am induced some- 
times to say things, both of myself and 
my friends, which, if the dictates of 
Christianity were closely followed, would 
not be said. 

8th. I this morning at breakfast ex- 
pressed, that I should feel most easy to 
relinquish the voyage to the Mediterra- 
nean, myself and friends having become 
uneasy at the prospect. 



Here it may be remarked, that he had 
engaged his passage on board a vessel 
bound for Bordeaux, and was actually in 
readiness to go on board for that purpose, 
sleeping at Falmouth ; when the wind 
becoming fair by daybreak one morning, 
the vessel sailed without him, the Captain 
having neglected to send him notice. He 
pleasantly remarked to his friends, that 



20 



he trusted it was all for the best ; and so 
indeed it afterwards proved, for this very- 
vessel was overtaken in a storm but a 
few days after, and foundered at sea. 
Thus he was again preserved from harm ; 
spared a little longer to his anxiously in- 
terested friends, for purposes, no doubt, 
wisely ordered by an Almighty Provi- 
dence. 

12th month, 7th. After noting some 
occurrences, the books he read, and the 
kindness of his friends, for which he ex- 
presses the warmest gratitude, he pro- 
ceeds : " I propose setting off for Ply- 
mouth, to avail myself of an opportunity 
for a passage to Bordeaux, on board a 
London vessel bound for that port, having 
passengers on board ; but all things are 
so uncertain here, that I hardly dare cal- 
culate on going by her. No less than 
five times have I been disappointed in 
leaving this port by different vessels ; 
however, through it all, I do not feel 



21 



much disconcerted, which is a comfort. 
' In your patience possess ye your soul.' J 

On the 20th, he actually sailed in a brig 
bound for Charente ; but a hard gale drove 
the vessel into Penzance for shelter. He 
went on shore, and came to Falmouth, 
where he met his brother, who had crossed 
from Ireland for the purpose of seeing 
him ; and on the 25th he received a note 
from the captain of the brig, informing 
him that a fair wind had induced him to 
sail without delay. Thus he was again 
disappointed of his intended voyage ; and 
again he referred the disappointment to 
the hand of that Providence which guides 
our course unseen, and, too often, unac- 
knowledged. 

Between this time and the 10th of the 
following month, he joined his brother 
and sister in a tour round the western 
coast of Cornwall. He soon after re- 
turned home, intending to pay what atten- 



22 



tion he could to business, having given 
up, for the present, all intention of going 
to the Continent ; his health, though still 
precarious, not appearing to require a 
milder climate. 

2d month, 3d. Alluding to a promis- 
ing opportunity of engaging in business, 
which required caution, he says: "My 
happiness certainly does not depend on 
abundance ; and I hope I shall be pre- 
served in contentment with a little, rely- 
ing for comfort on an increase of grace. 
Oh ! that I could always feel resigned, 
and aim at acting constantly in confor- 
mity with the Divine will !" 

" 5th. (Fifth day.) As usual, attended 
meeting, which I desire constantly to do, 
even though I may not be favored to feel 
much refreshment therefrom. It is a 
Christian duty that ought not to be ne- 
glected : and when there is a deficiency 
in this respect, I believe it will be found 



23 



too frequently to originate in want of 
love to the cause of religion ; although 
other excuses may be alleged." 

After lamenting his own small progress 
in matters of the first importance, he 
adds : " I desire, more than riches and 
all worldly honors, to increase in that 
knowledge which is from above. " 

His health appearing rather to amend, 
he engaged a little in business, and on 
one occasion exposed himself unwisely; 
the effects of which he felt, and says — 

"4th month, 17th. It compels me to 
lie by. About a week ago I again 
coughed up blood. 

" It is evident I must pursue a differ- 
ent plan, and be content to lead a less 
bustling life, which will doubtless be best 
for my spiritual welfare. I propose this 
week going to Ilfracombe to try change 



24 



of air." There he staid some weeks with 
one of his sisters ; when the weather per- 
mitted, taking excursions on the water 
for the benefit of his health. On one of 
those occasions they visited the Island of 
Lundy, where he mentions being most 
kindly welcomed and entertained by the 
principal person who inhabits the island. 
Circumstances induced them to embrace 
the offer of lodging for the night : he 
says : " Being to rise at three o'clock in 
the morning, to return with the flowing 
tide, we went to bed early, not a little 
fatigued with the exertions of the day ; 
walking, and talking after our arrival, 
brought on a return of my old complaint, 
which took off considerably from the plea- 
sure I should otherwise have "felt." 

" 5th month, 10th. Spit a little more 
blood this morning : another warning to 
me : they are all, no doubt, intended in 
mercy to my poor soul." 



25 



The following day they returned to 
Wales, and after a few days, symptoms of 
inflammation of the lungs appearing, he 
was bled copiously, and again the next 
day ; so that he was necessarily confined 
much to his bed. On this occasion he 
wrote the following to his mother, who 
was in London, attending the Yearly 
Meeting, after saying that he made the 
attempt at his father's request, to relieve 
her from that anxiety, to which, as a 
tender and affectionate parent, she had 
been subjected : "Weak I am of course, 
and w 7 eak I must expect to be ; and I 
have taken up the pen thus early before 
the surgeon comes, because it is probable 
he will think it right still further to in- 
capacitate me. He thinks we shall soon 
get the upper hand of the disorder; whe- 
ther w T e do or not, ought not to be cause 
for anxiety. I consider that life and 
death are at the disposal of the Almighty ; 
and whilst I can feel a passive submis- 
sion to his will, I cannot feel anxious as 



26 



to the result. I am desirous, if it should 
please him to take me from this scene, 
that my heart may be better prepared for 
the change than it now is ; and this I feel 
pretty confident would be granted. If I 
at any time form the subject of thy pray- 
ers, may it be for this, rather than for 
that!" 

6th month, 8th. I am now apparently 
getting better ; but what the end may 
be, the Lord only knows : it is for me 
to wait patiently the result. I have 
hitherto been favored to feel much calm- 
ness, and even thankfulness for this dis- 
pensation. It affords me a delightful op- 
portunity for retirement and improve- 
ment. That the whole may ultimately 
tend to the glory of a merciful God, is 
often the earnest desire of my heart ! 

I have perused many works since my 
last attack, some with profit to my under- 
standing ; but less than could be wished 
to the heart. 



27 



Our Yearly Meeting party are returned, 
and give a very satisfactory account of 
the Meetings, which it is gratifying to 
hear, and that the glorious cause of 
truth, as professed by Friends, seems to 
strengthen instead of decay ; of which I 
have often felt fearful : riches are creep- 
ing in so amongst us, and with them cor- 
roding luxury and its attendants. May 
our individual and collective cry to the 
Almighty constantly be for more hu- 
mility. 

[Being again advised to have recourse 
to sailing, he once more embarked.] 

7th month 1st. Flushing. — Arrived 
here after a long and perilous voyage 
round the Land's-end from Swansea ; hav- 
ing encountered a heavy storm, which 
lasted fifteen hours. I was favored to 
feel very calm, confiding, I hope, in the 
goodness of the Almighty for support, 
and relying on his mercy through our 



28 



Saviour, in case it should have pleased 
him to suffer the deep to swallow us up : 
it was an awful time, and our preserva- 
tion demands our gratitude. 

A few weeks since, my friends thought 
it right to call in medical assistance for 
my poor body again ; in consequence of 
which I was bled, cupped, blistered, &c, 
so that I am reduced lower than I ever 
remember. Voyaging being recommend- 
ed, I have again begun to roam about the 
w r orld in search of health ; what the re- 
sult may be is wisely hid from me ; but 
I know that I am in the hands of a just 
and merciful God, and I think I feel 
quite resigned to go or stay, as he may 
ordain. This earth never "appeared so 
beautiful ; and I think I never felt more 
happy in it, than I am at times now fa- 
vored to feel : but there is something 
wanting, which nothing but a closer 
union with God can give : for this, either 
here, or hereafter, I fervently long ; but 
patiently to wait is my duty. 



29 



7th month, 12th. On board the Dash 
yacht, off Falmouth. First-day. "Sure- 
ly goodness and mercy have followed me 
all the days of my life." " What shall 
I render unto the Lord for all his bene- 
fits ?" 

This day I have been favored to expe- 
rience much calmness and peace. In the 

afternoon my two dear friends, 

and , who are on a religious visit to 

these parts, kindly came out to pay me 
a visit; and' we had indeed a highly fa- 
vored season. They were led to hand 
me the cup of comfort and consolation, 
in a very tender and affectionate manner : 
my heart feels near unity w r ith them in 
their labor of love, and I secretly pray 
that the Lord will bless their undertaking 
in promoting his own glory, and reward 
them w r ith peace. Awful is the work of 
the Ministry ! true Ministry ! 

13th. This morning my dear uncle, R. 
W. Fox, kindly came off, though the 

3* 



30 



weather was rough, to see me ; affection- 
ately solicitous to do anything he can to 
promote my comfort. I cannot express the 
gratitude I feel to all my endeared rela- 
tions and friends, for their continued and 
increased kindness ; and above all to the 
Almighty, not only for his temporal gifts, 
which are superabundant, but far more, 
for the influence of his Holy Spirit in my 
heart, which has latterly been mercifully 
granted, to reduce and soften it. The 
Lord is omniscient ; he knows the in- 
most thoughts of the heart,and will thence 
accept, without words, what words can- 
not express. 

26th. Glynvelin Cottage, near Neath. 
For the last few days my lassitude and in- 
crease of debility have been so great, 
that it has been an exertion to me simply 
to read my Bible : to-day I feel a little 
revived. 

We sailed from Falmouth, on sixth day 



31 



the 17th, in a brig bound round land for 
Swansea, after having made an effort first 
to go across land to Portreath, and which 
we were dissuaded from accomplishing. 
This circumstance, however, afforded me 
an opportunity, which I should not other- 
wise have had, of spending a very plea- 
sant and instructive day in the society of 
those I love : all things w r ork together 
for good to those that love God ; and 
truly I do feel that he is the most attrac- 
tive object of my affections. How de- 
lightful to feel that one is the subject of 
such a Protector's care ; and for those 
that sincerely love him, he ivill care : this 
gives me peace and confidence, whether I 
live or die. 

Our voyage was on the whole pleasant : 
there is something pleasing in returning 
home after a journey, be that journey 
agreeable or difficult ; but peculiarly so 
if that home be a happy one. May I, 
during the remainder of my journey 
through life, so walk as to be able to look 



32 

forward to the other state as going home : 
going to a home most delightful — to a 
Father most paternal, in whose presence 
there is fulness of joy. 

Ever since my return I have been 
troubled with a pain in my right side ; in 
consequence I have been subjected again 
to the reducing system ; nevertheless I 
doubt not all will be well. I can truly 
say I glory in my weakness ; the less 
there is of the body, the more, I trust, 
there will be of the spirit, until it is 
wholly unshackled. 

[Another short voyage being recom- 
mended, he crossed the channel to Ire- 
land, accompanied by one of his sisters ; 
and returned to Swansea, in time for the 
Half-yearly Meeting held there in the 
8th month, which he did not attend, but 
writes as follows] : — 

Our Half-yearly Meeting was nume- 



33 



rously attended; the majority was Friends 
of the younger class. I am willing to 
believe that generally those that come, 
attend from motives of interest in our 
Society, and a desire to be benefited ; 
but I very much wish that more decided 
attention was paid, to prevent the out- 
ward appearance of gaiety and festivity, 
which, I am sure, must strike the observ- 
ing world on such occasions. It is cal- 
culated to, and I am persuaded does 
draw down censure on our Society, and 
causes, in some instances, even our reli- 
gious profession to be calumniated. If a 
small personal sacrifice will effect it, we 
ought to avoid giving offence.* 

A few days after our arrival, we re- 
ceived an account of the death of our 

dear friend , after an illness of a 

few days only. She departed peacefully, 

* This observation is worthy the attention of 
young and old, whether applicable on that occa- 
sion or not. 



34 



under a feeling of universal love to her 
fellow-creatures. So sudden a removal 
of one whose society I recently enjoyed 
in the possession of perfect health, I feel 
to be another loud call to us, who are left 
a little longer, to awaken from our leth- 
argy, and stand prepared for a similar 
awful summons. 

[The following is a copy of a letter to 
the mother of this young woman] : — 

8th month 22d, 1818. 

My dear Friend, — 

Unqualified as I feel to offer anything 
that can afford consolation to thyself and 
your dear family, under the deeply afflic- 
tive dispensation with which it has pleased 
the Almighty again to visit you, I should 
not do my own feelings justice, were I 
not to endeavor to express, though feebly, 
somewhat of the near sympathy into which 
I have been introduced, by the account 
which this morning's post brought from 
my brother. 



35 



Mysterious indeed are the ways of Pro- 
vidence ! yet, confiding in his goodness 
and mercy, I have no doubt but that even 
these trials, which we find the most diffi- 
cult to bear, are designed for our purifi- 
cation and ultimate benefit. We know 
that our passage through time is covered 
with snares and encompassed by difficul- 
ties, and the great object of our existence 
is a preparation for eternity ; if therefore 
our dearest friends be called hence, to 
enjoy the presence of our heavenly 
Father, although our loss must at first 
cause a pang to the natural feelings, we 
surely ought to rejoice at their unspeak- 
able gain. That this would be the lot of 
our dear departed friend, if she should 
be taken, I believed from the first day of 
her fatal attack ; and the renewed assu- 
rance that her spirit is enjoying commu- 
nion with the blessed, now affords me 
cause of great thankfulness. Little did 
we think when, only nine or ten days ago, 
participating in her company the pleasure 



36 



of social and affectionate intercourse, and 
receiving from herself all those kind atten- 
tions which she was foremost to bestow, 
that so soon we were to suffer a final 
separation : how striking an evidence 
that "the race is not to the swift, nor the 
battle to the strong !" How awful and 
imperious a call to us who are left, to 
stand prepared for the like visitation ! 
My heart's desire for the whole of your 
circle, each individual of which claims a 
warm interest in my breast, is, that you 
may be preserved in resignation and for- 
titude under the afflictive stroke, and that 
this and every other trial that can befall 
you, may tend to your ultimate good. I 
am conscious of having been very defi- 
cient in the expression of gratitude for all 
your kind and disinterested attentions 
during my stay at Waterford ; but I hope 
thou wilt rest assured, that it has not 
proceeded from a want of a feeling sense 
of their value. I shall often recur with 
pleasure and satisfaction to the time 1 



37 



spent under your hospitable roof, and feel 
myself a debtor for obligations it may, 
perhaps, never be in my power to repay. 

Since my recovery from the cold and 
indisposition which has confined me most- 
ly to the bed for a week, I have endea- 
vored to fill up my time as usefully as 
I could. The perusal and study of my 
Bible occupy a considerable portion of 
my time, from which I derive both edifi- 
cation and amusement, and am led more 
and more into the desire that my friends 
and the whole human race may pay in- 
creasing attention to its sacred contents. 
It certainly points out the way to our 
eternal salvation ; but I have much (much 
indeed !) yet to learn from it. When I 
consider that without regeneration, no 
man can enter the kingdom of God, and 
reflect on my ow T n state in comparison 
with that, I am sometimes ready to ex- 
claim, Oh ! what shall I do ? I desire to 
be kept patient and at the Lord's dispo- 

4 



38 



sal, humble and calm, in the heights and 
in the depths, trusting all to the mercy 
of the Most Merciful. I feel thank- 
ful that my bodily health appears to 
amend ; thankful only under the hope, 
that if it does, I may be enabled to live 
to the glory of the Almighty. 

7th of 9th month. Felt some concern 
to-day, that whilst I am engaged in vi- 
gorously endeavoring to store my mind 
with a variety of information, ^acknow- 
ledge may maintain an uppermost place : 
without this, I feel sensible, all human 
acquirements will be but as dross. 

9th. I have been occupied with reading 
some Friends' tracts, which I thought 
might be useful in case of my going to 
France. 

It is good frequently to meditate on 
the scheme of our salvation as described 
in the New Testament ; a glorious scheme 
truly, and worthy of its Great Devisor ! 



39 

Soon after the last date he took a fresh 
cold, which brought on another attack of 
inflammation ; and on the 17th it was found 
necessary again to resort to those reducing 
remedies from which he had before ob- 
tained relief; but the disease had now 
made too great a progress to yield as 
heretofore, and his medical attendants 
strongly urged him to try the effects of a 
sea voyage, as speedily as possible. This 
he was himself earnest to do ; and at the 
end of about five weeks, he was conveyed 
on board a yacht, in which, accompanied 
by a brother and sister, and suitable at- 
tendants, he again crossed the Irish 
Channel, in order that both himself and 
his friends might be able to judge, by a 
sail of this length, whether any benefit 
would be likely to result from a longer 
voyage. But of the unfitness, and in- 
deed impracticability of this, all were 
soon convinced, by his continued and in- 
creasing weakness. The complaint was 
now evidently making rapid inroads on 



40 

his debilitated frame, and it was resolved 
that he should remove into the mild at- 
mosphere of the Cornish coast, as the 
best substitute for a more southern cli- 
mate. 

They arrived at St. Ives on the 9th of 
the 11th month, and on the 12th settled 
into lodgings at Penzance, where, with 
others of the family who afterwards joined 
them, they remained till the last solemn 
event took place. Of much that marked 
the period that passed here, the Journals 
of his sisters contain an account, from 
which the following pages are extracted. 

An Account of the Last Illness 
of Edwin Price, 

Extracted from the Journals of his sisters. 
Penzance, 11th month 19th, 18 IS. 

Last night, whilst his sisters were sit- 
ting by his bedside, they had a sweet hour 
of his company. They had been saying 
to each other, in the course of the day, 



41 



that although there was no doubt as to 
the prepared state of his mind, they did 
not like that he should be so unconscious, 
as he appeared to be (entirely from the 
flattering nature of his disease), of the 
probable near approach of a final change. 
One of his sisters therefore asked the 
other, as they sat by him, what she 
thought of the desirableness of a long 
life. Her reply was, that she considered 
it wholly to depend on a state of prepa- 
ration for a better. Her sister then said 
that she had been thinking, in the course 
of the day, how encompassed with trials 
this world is, and how selfish it seemed to 
be, to desire the detention of our friends 
in suffering, when the change would be 
such a happy one to them : that we had 
a positive assurance in Scripture, " that 
eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither 
have entered the heart of man, the things 
which God hath prepared for them that 
love him." That text, said her sister, 

4* 



42 



has been so much in my mind to-day, that 
I have communicated it to Edwin. 

Pleased with this coincidence of thought 
and feeling, they then asked the dear in- 
valid, who evinced great interest in the 
conversation, whether he continued to 
feel the same resignation that he formerly 
had done, and whether he thought he 
should recover. He replied, " It is a 
serious thing to feel quite prepared ;" and 
added, " I am now able to see nothing as 
to the future." They told him it was a 
great favor, that almost throughout his 
illness, such an indubitable evidence had 
been afforded, not only to himself but to 
his family, and to many of his friends, 
that he was in the hands of a heavenly 
Father, who had nothing but mercy in 
store for him ; and that this should be an 
encouragement in moments of darkness 
and doubt, when the Comforter was with- 
drawn. " Yes," he said very diffidently, 
" I have been greatly blessed with an evi- 



43 



dence of his love, though I have felt 
great desertion ; and a fear sometimes ex- 
ists, lest I have not sufficiently sought the 
Lord, depending too much on these evi- 
dences. The Almighty must be sought. 
He must be sought." 

They told him they felt a strong con- 
viction, that whether life or death were 
his portion all would be well ; that his 
state was a most critical one, as there 
was no doubt that his lungs were greatly 
diseased. "Yes," he said, "they are 
no doubt ulcerated ; and ulceration is 
death." They observed, that leaving all 
in the hands of an Almighty Father was 
most desirable for him. " To Him I 
look," he replied ; " to Him only I com- 
mit myself." He intimated that he did 
not feel the same animating influence to 
which he had been accustomed in former 
times. This state of mind, they suggested 
to him, might be only a part of the re- 
fining operation necessary to fit him for a 



44 



union with Infinite Perfection ; and it 
was a suffering which the Saviour himself 
partook of, when, under a sense of deser- 
tion, he so affectingly exclaimed : " My 
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken 
me ?" There was, during this conversa- 
tion, a diffidence, humility, and sweetness 
in his manner, which seemed like an ear- 
nest of his future blessed allotment. 

20th. This evening, when changing 
his linen, which had been frequently ne- 
cessary from profuse perspiration, he re- 
marked how T very thin he was, and said, 
" Perhaps with the greatest care I may 
last till the fourth month, but I think I 
shall not last longer." He was lately 
retracing the different periods of his past 
life, and said, there was none he could 
recur to with greater satisfaction than to 
his very early years, when he was under 
the tender care and tuition of his mother : 
recollecting with particular pleasure, the 



45 



days he used to spend at a favorite cot- 
tage with her. 

One day, some months since, when 
confined to his bed by a severe inflam- 
matory attack, he asked one of his sisters 
whether she recollected that beautiful 
text from Isaiah, which he repeated, evi- 
dently applying it to his own condition : 
" Though the Lord give thee the bread 
of adversity and the w T ater of affliction, 
yet shall not thy teachers be removed 
into a corner any more : but thine eye 
shall see thy teachers, and thine ear shall 
hear a word behind thee, saying, This 
is .the w T ay, walk in it, when ye turn to 
the right hand, and when ye turn to the 
left." 

He frequently observed how happy he 
was, and that he had everything to make 
him happy ; that with regard to his ill- 
ness he was resigned to the event, and 
would prefer being taken from the temp- 



46 



tations of the world to being again in- 
volved in a vortex of business; which, 
from his naturally active disposition, he 
feared he should pursue with too much 
ardor. He often made sweetly instruc- 
tive remarks on the Scriptures, which, 
when the state of his health permitted him 
to read, formed much of his study. 

21st. To-day, being deprived of the 
sensible presence of the promised Com- 
forter, who so often manifested himself to 
him, he took up the Olney Hymn Book, 
and requested to have read to him that 
hymn from Isaiah 57 : 16, " I dwell with 
him also that is of a contrite and humble 
spirit." He observed, it was a very sweet 
hymn, and the second verse peculiarly 
descriptive of a deserted state : — 

I hear, but seem to hear in vain, 

Insensible as steel ; 
If aught is felt, 'tis only pain 

To find I cannot feel. 



47 

He also requested, as he frequently did, 
to have the 103d Psalm read to him, and 
several others, to which he listened with 
great attention. 

22d. Conversing, this evening, on the 
probable result of his illness, he said : 
" We must put our trust in the Lord ;" 
appeared quite aware of his situation, and 
gave several directions relative to his 
affairs. He repeated the first verse of 
the hymn in the Olney collection, on 
parting — 

As the sun's enlivening eye 

Shines on every place the same, 

So the Lord is always nigh 

To the souls that love his name. 

He said this hymn was a great favorite 
of his, and that he often repeated it to 
himself ; that he learnt it when spending 
a few weeks at Ilfracombe for his health; 
a time to which he often alluded with 
great satisfaction. " We lived there in 



48 



retirement (said he), and that I like ; and 
think far most profitable, affording satis- 
factory time for our books, contemplation, 
and prayer/' He twice asked, whether 
we had no volume of " Piety Promoted" 
to read to him ; and on his sisters saying 
they would send and borrow one, he ap- 
peared pleased ; adding : " I love to read 
such books," and observed that " Dying 
Sayings" used to be a favorite book with 
him. 

This evening, when placed in an easy 
chair, he requested, as usual, to have a 
portion of Scripture read to him. This 
was done by one of his sisters. When 
she had closed the book, and risen to get 
him something, he desired .her to come 
and sit down again, and, after a pause, 
addressed her as follows : " Many of my 
friends formerly apprehended I should be 
called to future service in the Church ; 
and I look back to one particular period, 
when the Divine light shone with peculiar 



49 



clearness, and through, I believe, the 
immediate revelation of my heavenly 
Father, I saw beyond th-e present year, 
and I apprehended I should be restored to 
serve him ; but now, and for a long sea- 
son, my state has been one of the utmost 
desertion, wherein all the future is hidden 
from me, and I am ready to fear lest this 
is dispensed through some omission of my 
own ; I am afraid I do not sufficiently 
devote my thoughts to God ; and, although 
some of my friends have thought it would 
please the Almighty to shorten my time 
here, and to receive me to glory, I can- 
not, from the evidences apprehended by 
them respecting me, derive any encour- 
agement to my own mind." But, after 
a short pause, with tears of humility, he 
added : " Though, I do believe, through 
the mediation of a Redeemer, I shall be 
favored to obtain a place in the kingdom 
of heaven, and that an assurance of it 
will be granted to me before I die." 

5 



50 

He then mentioned a happy period in 
his religious experience a few months 
since, before he ordered a plainer hat, 
which he said he did from a sincere de- 
sire to support the discipline of our 
Church in simplicity of dress, and added, 
" Though I apprehended it right to do it, I 
felt afterwards many fears, lest I was pro- 
fessing more than I ought.' ' He spoke 
with the utmost tenderness and humility 
under this and some trials and tempta- 
tions ; however, he derived comfort from 
the consideration, that these conflicts w T ere 
most probably permitted for the trial of 
his faith and patience ; that the most 
eminent Christians experienced them ; 
even the great Apostle Paul had felt 
them, when he was consoled-with the lan- 
guage, " My grace is sufficient for thee, 
for my strength is made perfect in weak- 
ness." 

23d. He requested to have some parts 
of " Piety Promoted" read to him, and 



51 



remarked, when they were finished, that 
the accounts were very sweet ; and, after 
lying quite still, said, with renewed con- 
fidence, " I think I have ever found my 
prayer^ answered.'' On being told it 
was very encouraging, and a great favor 
to be spared severe conflicts, of which 
some w r ere partakers ; " Yes," he re- 
plied, "yet I cannot think but that may 
yet be dispensed. Regeneration /" he 
solemnly repeated, " we must be born 
again before w r e can enter the kingdom 
of God," — adding with humility: "I 
cannot think that work complete in me." 

24th. Frequently, in the course of this 
day, he has expressed his desire to repose 
in quiet confidence on his Almighty Fa- 
ther, all whose ways he acknowledged 
were just and true and merciful : that he 
entertained no gloomy ideas of death, and 
desired to feel weaned from the world ; 
that he did not consider long life desira- 
ble. This morning, when noticing the 



52 



beautiful sunshine, he said, " I shall pro- 
bably never walk abroad in it again.' ' 
"Then," replied one of his sisters, "we 
have the consolation of believing thou 
wilt be better provided for." " Yes," he 
replied, "that is very true." 

This day he has repeatedly expressed 
his grateful sense of the benefits he en- 
joys, saying, " What a blessing to be so 
free from suffering ! I consider this 
long illness a great mercy." He re- 
quested, as usual, this evening, to hear 
some religious reading : and desired that 
part of Revelation might be read to him 
which says : " Blessed are the dead which 
die in the Lord," &c. He then said, 
that he made it a practice, when residing 
in London, every morning to read the 
sacred volume before he quitted his 
chamber. "I used," added he, "to read 
often, in the Proverbs, the wise sayings 
of Solomon ; and truly I stood in need of 
them, exposed as I was to the evils of the 
world." 



53 



27th. This morning he requested one 
of his sisters to read to him in the Bible, 
adding : u Iam not now able to do it my- 
self." The book opened to the last chap- 
ter of Luke, where our Lord made himself 
known to his disciples, as they journeyed 
to Emmaus and were sad. After a few 
verses had been read, his sister observed 
his countenance suffused with tears : and, 
fearing he might be suffering in body or 
mind, when the chapter was finished, she 
ventured to ask him if that was the case. 
He replied with earnestness, " no, my 
dear !" When sitting by his couch in 
the evening, rubbing his feet, which were 
much swollen, he said to her, " I am 
very comfortable — comfortable both in 
body and mind : how joyous is the fu- 
ture ! I have had a little glimpse of it 
to-day ; a little glimpse through the eye 
of faith. My mind was drawn forth in 
prayer, when thou began to read to me 
this morning, and all I now desire is pa- 
tience." He looked angelically sweet; 
5* 



54 

and on her saying it would have been dif- 
ficult to have believed that the affections 
of nature could have been so much hushed 
and resigned, as, in consideration of the 
inconceivable felicity of which he was 
about to partake, they were, and that 
they could not wish to detain him here, 
he said: " no! to be sure not; all is 
nothing, compared to it." 

28th. This evening, the fourth and 
fifth chapters of 2d Corinthians were read 
to him, particularly noting that passage: 
" For we know that if our earthly house 
of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have 
a building of God, a house not made with 
hands, eternal in the heavens." He looked 
full of sweetness, and when they were fin- 
ished, said, "Very comforting." 

29th. Being supported in bed this morn- 
ing, for a little change of posture, he 
looked out of the window, and observing 
a number of sparrows feeding, remarked, 



55 



" And not even a sparrow falls to the 
ground without our Father's knowledge !" 
This afternoon, when much exhausted, 
and his sisters were wiping the drops of 
perspiration from his face and arms, he 
said, "My cry surely should be, May the 
Lord help nie!" 

He again, in the course of the evening, 
expressed his earnest desire to keep his 
mind stayed on the everlasting arm. " I 
desire patience," said he, " for which my 
prayers have been offered up. If my 
poor mind, which feels so much of dark- 
ness, could but be touched and wrought 
upon as in former times, I should be sat- 
isfied ; but if it please the Almighty to 
take me now, doubtless I shall have rest 
and peace. He knows what is best ; and 
I leave it to him." 

Afterwards he entered affectionately 
into sympathy with his sisters, on the 
impending trial of a separation from him. 



56 



They told him it would indeed be a great 
affliction, yet his state of mind, and the 
assurance they felt as to the joys he 
would enter upon, was a great stay to 
their minds — an unspeakable consolation 
— and that they desired to keep their 
minds fixed upon Him, who alone could 
make the hardest things easy. " I think 
you will, I' he replied. He then said, 

how acutely his d6ar brother would 

feel this stroke. "We have been brought 
up together, companions from early in- 
fancy, and entered so much into each 
other's schemes, and are so much attached 
to each other." He desired this beloved 
companion might seek support from the 
same source, and that his death might 
be blessed to him. 

12th month 2d. On his brother , 



in the course of conversation, this even- 
ing, telling him how close a trial it would 
be to him to lose him, he replied: " Yes, 
but only consider, , what a change 



57 



it will be for me ; how glorious ! how de- 
lightful !" adding : "I hope we shall 
meet in a better and a happier world. I 
believe I shall be favored with a peace- 
ful passage ; and shall obtain, through 
the mercy of my Saviour, a place in the 
kingdom of heaven. He is our Redeemer, 
and it is only through him we can enter 
there." 

He said to one of his sisters : " I have 
had many glorious seasons during my ill- 
ness. " He also, when sitting up in bed, 
requested she would bring him a Bible, 
which he was about to send as a little 
memorial of his affection to a dear friend 
of his ; and with a feeble, trembling 
hand, wrote in it, after inscribing his 
name : " When death is near, God is our 
only support.'' 

Speaking of the concern he felt for one 
dear to him, on account of the dangers 
and temptations to which his line of life 
exposed him, by introducing him much 



58 



into mixed society, he concluded by say- 
ing : " Far better for him to become a 
standard-bearer in the Church, than to 
cherish the friendships of the world." 

He expressed great resignation to the 
Divine will, and said, he could, he believed 
from his heart, adopt the language of, 
" Thy will be done." That though not 
permitted to feel sensible consolation, he 
thought the light would yet shine. He 
mentioned some excellent rules for reli- 
gious conduct, by Sir Matthew Hale, one 
of which was the examination of the 
heart at the close of each day ; and 
added : " Mine are now, through the 
mercy of Providence, mostly passed in 
sleep." When taken out, to have his 
bed made this evening, he requested to 
have a few Olney Hymns read ; and de- 
sired his sister, if she could, to find one 
describing a young person setting out in 
life with sanguine hopes, and receiving a 
sudden check to all his earthly prospects. 



59 



The nearest which the book afforded, was 
one entitled, " Earthly prospects deceit- 
ful;" this he thought very suitable ; and 
afterwards heard his favorite hymn, with 
which he expressed great satisfaction : — 

" Courage, my soul ! behold the prize 

A Saviour's love provides : 
Eternal rest beyond the skies 

To all whom here he guides." 

He again spoke of the important work 
of regeneration, repeating the words of 
our Saviour, John 3d, and expressed, in 
strong terms, his Christian faith in the 
mercy of a Redeemer, saying, " He is 
the only way !" 

5th. He conversed much on religious 
subjects, especially the resurrection of the 
dead, quoting the words of our blessed 
Lord to the poor repenting criminal, 
" To-day shalt thou be with me in Para- 
dise ;" and the assurance respecting the 
resurrection, in John, chap. 14th : " In 



60 



my Father's house are many mansions : 
I go to prepare a place for you." He 
spoke of the snares and temptations 
which are in the world, and those which 
always most beset him, and of the glori- 
ous change which now awaited him. 

9th. Last night, when, from excessive 
weakness, it seemed a great effort to him 
to be moved at all, he was engaged in 
prayer for strength; and on his elder 
brother, who watched by him, repeating 
to him from Isaiah : " Thou wilt keep 
him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed 
on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee," 
he replied : " ! yes ; it is from Him I 
derive all my strength." He was indeed 
most exemplary in patience and resigna- 
tion, and frequently spoke of his death 
with the utmost composure. He said to 
one of his brothers : " I feel such entire 
trust in the Lord's mercy and goodness, 
that I can wholly commit myself to him, 
believing that if I am removed to-morrow, 



61 



I shall be favored, through the love of a 
Redeemer, to enjoy rest and peace." At 
another time he remarked, " I sometimes 
enjoy the anticipation of a removal from 
the pains of mortality, and the snares 
and temptations of the world." 

12th. At this time an eminent physi- 
cian, who is a near connection, and who 
regularly visited him with the most affec- 
tionate and unremitting kindness, told his 
family that he did not think that he could 
survive many days, his fever being very 
high and his weakness extreme. 

16th. He requested to have a psalm 
read to him, and repeated slowly himself, 
at two different times, " Oh ! that-I had 
wings like a dove, for then I would fly 
away and be at rest!" When he was 
suffering much from pain in his back, on 
being asked if nothing could be done to 
relieve him, he said, " Oh ! no : we 
must pray to the Lord for contentment." 

6 



62 



He spoke this evening of the trial it 
would be to him to leave his family, but 
that he believed the further he got into 
the field of Divine love, the more he 
should be weaned and purified from the 
world. He had thought he should be 
raised up again, and that he should have 
to glorify the name of the Lord on the 
earth ; but thought he might now be re- 
moved to praise him in heaven. 

19th. Experiencing considerable diffi- 
culty of breathing, he said to one of his 
sisters who sat by him : " Oh ! how much 
better for me to go." She told him, she 
hoped he would still be enabled to wait 
patiently till heaven was his appointed 
portion. " Oh I wish I was there !" he 
said : " far more desirable to me than 
lingering thus and taking so much trouble 
to support the poor body, which must 
shortly die. 1 must very soon go ! yet 
if it is the Almighty's will that I stay 
longer, so be it." 



63 



20th. His cough for the last few days 
has been almost incessant, which, to so 
emaciated and enfeebled a frame, is ex- 
tremely distressing ; but he remarked 
during the night, to one of his sisters, 
who watched by him, how much less dis- 
tressing his cough had been during the 
night : she told him it seemed extraordi- 
nary, and not to be accounted for. He 
said : " The Almighty is very merciful ; 
I did pray to be relieved : it is seldom I 
dare intrude such petitions, but this seems 
granted ; the Lord's mercy is indeed un- 
bounded!" 

21st. This evening, when just roused 
out of sleep by a fit of coughing, he was 
heard to say to himself: " I am in the 
hands of the Almighty, else how could I 
feel so satisfied ?" 

26th. In the course of last night, he 
conversed most sweetly with one of his 
sisters on the excellence of religion ; he 



64 



said : " A union and communion of the 
soul with Grod, how glorious ! Oh ! when 
brought to the very gates of death, as I 
have been, how is every barrier removed! 
It is a delightful feeling ! — delightful ! — 
most delightful! I would not return to 
the world again for any consideration 
whatever. One's family, relations, and 
friends, are very near; but every other 
feeling seems lost in universal love !" 

27th. This morning he asked, as his 
aunt and one of his sisters were sitting 
by him, whether it was likely that when 
we meet in heaven,"we shall know each 
other there. He remarked : " The 
Christian religion is mysterious to the 
natural understanding;"' repeating the 
words of our Saviour, " I and my Father 
are one." His aunt observed, that it was 
in the Divine light that these mysteries 
were made clear to our view. " Oh ! I 
often understand them," said he, " and 
again I do not understand them : but I 



65 



shall never forget a dream I had when 
returning from London." He spoke very 
slowly, his breath being affected and his 
cough interrupting him : " I thought I 
saw our Saviour suffering on the cross, 
and the drops of blood streaming dow T n 
his face, and the crown of thorns on his 
head ; and it so affected my mind that I 
thought I couljl never again act contrary 
to the precepts of Scripture. " He dwelt 
with peculiar emphasis on the sufferings 
of our Saviour, and implied, in an ex- 
pressive manner, the strong claim a Sa- 
viour's sufferings are on our duty, our 
love, and our obedience. 

29th. His mother, who had been de- 
tained from joining him, by important 
duties at home, was daily expected ; and 
whilst he was supported upon his couch 
to take a little nourishment, which, from 
distressing breathing, was a great burden, 
he said : " ! I hope when my mother 
and brother come, all will soon be finished, 

6* 



66 



and I may give up eating : yet (said he) 
I do not want to leave you ; I wish I could 
take you with me ; but I now seem to 
have done everything I had to do, and 
shall be glad to be taken. If I w T ere to 
recover, mine would be a life of conflict ; 
and were I to be restored, and to be guilty 
hereafter of a breach of covenant with the 
Almighty, how much to be regretted 
would such recovery be ! I wish (he re- 
peated) my mother and brother were 
here ; I should then have my family and 
friends around me, and shall soon, I hope, 
pass away." One of those who waited 
on him saying that a release from such 
sufferings must indeed be desirable, he 
checked the mention of suffering, and 
said, " But the joys I shall "possess how 
glorious !" To one of his sisters he said, 
" Sometimes the thought I shall soon be 
in heaven makes me almost spring from 
my bed." 

30th. This afternoon his mother ar- 



67 



rived : he extended his arms as she came 
to the bedside to meet her, and said, 
" Well, my dear mother, I receive thee 
with open arms, and am so glad to see 
thee." On her saying, she brought 
much love for him from his friends at 
home, he replied, in a very faint voice, 
his breathing being much affected, 
" Love seems to abound, mother !" On 
his again welcoming her, she told him she 
was now come to stay with him, if it 
should be months. " ! mother (he re- 
plied), I hope it will not be a month." 

31st. He inquired, this morning, which 
would be most acceptable to his mother, 
a new Bible or his old one ; he was told 
she would value most the one which he 
had been in the habit of reading, on ac- 
count of the marks he had put to differ- 
ent chapters : he said, " I have not 
made many marks, but I can truly say, I 
love the Lord with all my heart." After- 
wards, sitting up in bed, and feeling a 



68 



little bettor than usual, he said, "When 
I am free from pain and shortness of 
breath, 1 am SO happy ! ^ happy ! n 
and afterwards, with a heart overflowing 
with gratitude, recounted his numerous 
blessings, and said, k * I have been much 
favored through life ;" lie repeated again, 
u much favored." 

1st month 1st, 1819, On awakening 

(his forenoon out of a nice sleep, having 
been deprived of rest during the night by 
COUgh and shortness of breath, lie said, 
" What sweet sleep 1 have had ! what a 
fine thing it would be if I could sleep 
away into another world! Would it not 
be very delightful, mother ?" She told him 
that she had desired for him, if consis- 
tent with the Divine will, an easy passage. 
" Ah ! I have been thinking about that," 
he replied, cl but yet I do not think I 
ought to shrink from the sufferings of the 
cross, when I reflect on what our Saviour 
suffered ; how he endured bufferings." 



69 



2d. On his mother, to-day, reading to 
him one of the Olney Hymns, on the 
commencement of a new year, in which 
these lines occur: — 

u Thanks for mercies past receive, 
Pardon of our sins renew — " 

it seemed to induce a train of reflections, 
and he said, " How delightful it is that 
there is forgiveness of sins !" 

3d. This evening the dear sufferer 
wished to have some " Dying Sayings " 
read to him. " It does me good," he re- 
peated, "it does me good; I enjoy to 
hear such books." In the course of the 
reading he spoke of the exposure in the 
world to which he had formerly been sub- 
ject, and said, " I hope the Lord will 
take me from all these things." After- 
wards he added, " His mercy and good- 
ness have followed me all the days of my 
life." His mother said, " I consider, my 



70 



dear, that he has set his love upon thee." 
" yes," he replied, M He lias followed 
me, mother.'' 

Whilst reading to him an account of 
the closing moments of H. Stephens, 
wherein she was engaged in prayer, in 
these words : " This is a long conflict ! 
Lord, help ; send a little help from thy 
holy sanctuary, if it be thy holy will, I 
pray thee!" — he said: " yes, that is 
my cry." She afterwards read to him the 
account of Samuel Clothier Bryant, and 
commented particularly on one sweet re- 
mark of his, that as he felt no unity with 
the wicked, so he could not believe that 
his portion hereafter would be with such, 
but with purified beings and the spirits 
of the just made perfect ; and observed 
how delightful such society w r ould be ; on 
which he exclaimed : " Come, mother, 
and join us; come and join this delight- 
ful society." She told him, she must 
wait the Lord's time, but esteemed it a 



71 

favor to have been permitted to live to 
see her children grow up. " I have been 
thinking of that," he replied, "that it is 
cause of thankfulness on our account, 
that you [his parents] have been spared 
to us so long." He afterwards said, "It 
is astonishing how my love increases to 
all my fellow creatures." " It is because, 
my dear," replied his mother, " thou art 
getting nearer the fountain of love." 

4th. This morning a symptom of dis- 
solution appearing in the alteration of 
his voice, it was with difficulty, though 
with indescribable sweetness, that he ex- 
pressed himself, saying, " I think the 
Lord will soon release me ! and I hope 
you all fully resign me : do not hold me ; 
rather push than hold me," meaning that 
they should rather intercede for his re- 
lease. He then said, "What I desire 
for all my family is, that they may follow 
me into those regions where we shall 
unite to part no more ; and if one should 



72 



be missing, how dreadful would it be !" 
On one of his sisters saying, that she 
hoped if he had anything to say to them 
individually he would not withhold it, he 
replied : " No, my dear, what I feel is 
general : I love you all most dearly ; I 
wish my very dear love to be given to my 
friends at home. ,, He again dwelt on 
the bounty of his heavenly Father, say- 
ing, " I partake largely of the Lord's 
great mercy.' ' 

When he is awake religious reading is 
his delight, and often he appears to unite 
with the sentiments expressed, in silent 
prayer. When his brother, over whom 
his heart often seems to yearn, with the 
tenderest sympathy and affection, came 
to his bedside with a book in his hand, 
he inquired what it was, and, finding it 
was the New Testament, seemed pleased, 
saying, " That is right ;" and by his wish 
he heard a chapter. He several times 
said, he was almost ready, for the sake 



73 



of this brother, to wish to live ; and told 
him one night : "If guardian angels are 
permitted, I shall be a guardian angel to 
thee." 

To the man-servant who attended him 
by sea and land, and often watched by 
him at night, he expressed himself very 
gratefully, and with much Christian hu- 
mility, telling him he should take leave 
of him as a brother. He asked him, if 
he could do anything for him ; and said 
he should commend him particularly to 
the notice of his family. He had previ- 
ously presented this servant with a Bible, 
exhorting him to read in it frequently, 
and assuring him that he would deeply 
feel the value of an acquaintance with 
the Sacred Writings, when he should be 
laid on a death-bed. 

5th. This endeared and most patient 
sufferer, all last night endured great 
bodily conflict, as he has done to-day 

7 



74 



also, from the difficulty of breathing, 
under which he has often prayed for 
strength, saying : " Lord, help ! Lord, 
help ! Oh ! I shall be rejoiced when it 
is the will of the Almighty to take me." 
Afterwards, observing those around him 
much grieved to see him in such suffer- 
ing, he said to them, with a cheerful 
smile : " Never do you mind ; the king- 
dom of heaven is at hand, and that is 
glorious !" 

His whole conduct is animating, strik- 
ingly exemplifies the Christian, and com- 
ports with the emphatical declaration to 
one of his sisters, the day before yester- 
day : " My heart is fixed ! my heart is 
fixed !" On his mother just-now saying, 
she hoped it would please the Almighty 
in some way soon to grant him relief, he 
replied : " We must wait the Lord's 
time !" and on her adding, that she thought 
he was preserved in much patience ; he 
said humbly : "I am thankful for the 



rr 



5 



degree with which he favors me. What 
a kind Providence we have to do with !" 

He last night gave much excellent 
counsel to his beloved brother, who watch- 
ed by him, and said : " I hope, as thou 
lovesfc me, thou wilt remember what I say 
after I am gone/' He then said: "I 
feel rather anxious ! I fear I am not wor- 
thy of a place in the kingdom of heaven." 
On his brother remarking, that his trust 
must be in the mercy of the Almighty, 
he replied: "Yes; it is only on the good- 
ness and mercy of the Almighty I rely ; 
the prospect is a very awful one." But 
he soon added : " I feel no fear ; I feel 
full confidence, and believe that the lan- 
guage to me is : Trust in me, be not 
afraid." 

6th. The distressing breathing continu- 
ing to a great degree last night, one of 
his sisters, who was supporting him in 
bed, remarked to him : " These are weari- 



76 



some days and nights for thee." " Yes," 
he replied, " but for the hope set before 
me, as the Apostle says ; yet hope de- 
ferred maketh the heart sick, and I feel 
that to be my case ; but the Almighty is 
very kind to me — very kind ! whenever 
I think of it, it calls forth my gratitude." 
His voice is now gone, but his whisper is 
perfectly distinct, and he was heard to 
say, but whether in sleep or not was not 
known, " shall soon celebrate." 

7th. He was this morning much ex- 
hausted ; and on seeing his friends greatly 
affected, said, as well as his breath would 
let him : " The Lord will help me ;" after- 
wards, " I am thankful, very thankful ; 
how much better off am I than hundreds ! 
Everything I could wish, every comfort ; 
you are so kind to me !" On being told 
it was a great pleasure to wait on him, 
and to see him so sustained: "Well," 
said he, "this is all the effect of the light 
of the glorious Gospel ;" and afterwards 



77 



added : " I had thought my heavenly 
Father intended me for service in his 
Church below, and I was made willing to 
submit;" then signified his thankfulness 
in the sacrifice of the will being accepted, 
and his being removed so early to join 
the Church triumphant in heaven. He 
expressed much more, but getting fa- 
tigued, added : " I believe I must lie down 
now, though I enjoy to converse with you 
about these heavenly things." He looked 
out of the window at the prospect, say- 
ing, " Beautiful! everything in nature is 
beautiful." 

8th. In the course of the night before 
last, the dear invalid was in great bodily 
agony, from the difficulty of breathing ; 
a prelude to the last awful scene, of which 
those around him have to-day been the 
afflicted witnesses ; though in passing 
through the valley of the shadow of 
death the Almighty was his refuge, and 
underneath was the Everlasting arm. 



78 



He expressed himself thus : " I am ready 
to say, My God, My God ! why hast 
thou forsaken me ? My cry is, God, be 
merciful to me, a sinner." Again : " ! 
Almighty Father, be pleased to help me 
through !" and afterwards, as if an evi- 
dence had been granted that his prayer 
was heard, he added : "I am very thank- 
ful to my heavenly Father." 

Whilst his mother was reading to him 
from Isaiah, yesterday morning, " Look 
unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of 
the earth," he broke forth thus: " Save 
me ! save me ! Lord, save me ! that 
the bitterness of death were past ! Gracious 
Lord, condescend to be my Christ ! Lord 
Jesus, come quickly ! holy Jesus, come 
quickly ! sweet Jesus, come quickly ! and 
take me to thyself, this day, if it be con- 
sistent with thy blessed will ; but if it be 
not consistent with thy will, then grant 
me patience. Hear my petition, gra- 
cious Father ! I am ready. If it be not 



79 



presumptuous, permit me to reason 
with thee, and if I am ready, why not 
take me speedily ? But if I ara presump- 
tuous in thus reasoning with thee, be 
mercifully pleased to forgive me. For- 
give me all my sins, through the media- 
tion of the dear Son of thy love, Christ 
Jesus, our Lord. Give us this day our 
daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses; 
! forgive us our trespasses, as we for- 
give those that trespass against us ; and 
lead us not into temptation, but deliver 
us from evil ; for thine is the kingdom, 
thy glorious kingdom, forever and ever, 
Amen. ! I am holding sweet commu- 
nion with my Maker. Sweet communion I 
What condescension ! I thank thee, 
most holy Father, for thy great conde- 
scension ! May I this day show forth 
thy wisdom, glory, and praise ! Pour 
down I Pour down I pour down the cup 
of thy salvation, and enable me to render 
to thee the praise through Jesus Christ, 
my Redeemer. 



80 



" To-day, to-day, be pleased to release 
me, if it be thy most holy will, and ad- 
mit me into thy glorious kingdom — Oh 
glorious ! And grant me, Oh ! mercifully 
grant me a quiet passage, as an evidence 
that my prayer is heard. This day, my 
Saviour, receive me into thy arms ; never- 
theless, not my will but thine be done, 
and in thy own time take me, and grant 
me patience. I thank thee, glorious 
Father ! that thou hast heard me, through 
the merits of my Redeemer — through his 
merits ; I have no merits of my own ; no 
righteousness ; it is all of thy great mer- 
cy ; all my own righteousness is ' as filthy 
rags.' Great and marvellous art thou, 
Lord God Almighty ; mysterious are thy 
ways, and past finding out !" - 

He continued thus in fervent supplica- 
tion and devout praise for about an hour, 
but memory was so lost in feeling, that it 
can do no justice to this most solemn and 
impressive season. He asked for , 



81 



who quickly came to his bedside ; when 
he put out his hand to him, and said, 

" Come, , thou art come in time 

to see me preparing. Mind, , 

and commune with thy Maker. 0! 
there is nothing more delightful. When 
brought to such a time as this, all that 
the world can give is nothing. I have 
seen enough of the world ; quite enough : 
do not seek after riches ; be content with 
little ] keep at home in thy mind ; read 
Friends' books. I hope you will follow 
me, and that we shall all meet again. 
The Lord be with thee ! The Lord be 
thy guide !" He afterward said, in 
speaking of what our Saviour suffered for 
our sins : " I thought I saw him suffering 
on the cross, with the crown of thorns on 
his head, and the drops of blood running 
down his face, and his hands and feet 
pierced with the nails that fastened him 
to the cross ; and I thought I could 
never be disobedient/' 



82 



He then sent messages of love to differ- 
ent Friends ; desired that his room might 
be kept quite still, and gave general direc- 
tions about his funeral; adding, "And 
oh ! to be admitted into that glorious 
kingdom, I shall readily say, Fare-ye- 
well, fare-ye-well I" Much more of a 
most deeply instructive character he ex- 
pressed, and continued in a dying state 
the whole of yesterday and last night, 
during which, under the agony of death, 
he cried to the Almighty : " Help me ! 
help me to endure this trying dispensa- 
tion." 

On his mother coming to his bedside, 
and saying, u Be of good courage, do not 
be dismayed ;" he replied, very sweetly: 
" Cast down, mother, but not forsaken." 
At another time, " I feel that life is very 
short;" and on hearing the clock strike 
ten, he asked, "What o'clock is that?" 
On being told, he said, " Only ten ! 
Sorrow cometh in the evening, but death 



83 



in the morning.' ' At another time, " How 
mysterious are the ways of Providence !" 

As the period of dissolution approach- 
ed, which was marked by a distressing 
struggle for breath, he continued long in 
solemn prayer and praise. About three 
hours before his death, he said : " 
Lord, forgive all my sins ; condescend to 
hear my prayer, and seal my peace. 
Lord Jesus ! grant me patience." Then 
looking at those around him, he impres- 
sively said : " It is an awful thing to die ! 
remember that ; I always thought a death- 
bed awful, but never so much so as lately." 
His mother approaching nearer to his 
bedside, said : " The prison doors are 
opening, my dear, and thy captive spirit 
will soon be set free, and thou wilt enjoy 
the glorious liberty of the sons of God." 
He expressed himself as feeling more 
easy, adding : " Do you not think my cry 
to the Lord is heard ?" Then he quickly 
added : " My prayer is heard. I begin to 



84 



feel happiness. By twelve it will be over. 
Thy will be done on earth as it is done 
in heaven. In thy own time, most mer- 
ciful Father ! take me. Thy mercy and 
goodness have followed me all the days 
of my life." Then, just as his voice was 
dying away, he summoned all the powers 
of exhausted nature, and, in a most strik- 
ing manner, repeated, " I and my Father 
are one. I and my Father are one. I 
am the true vine. No man cometh unto 
the Father but by me." 

After his tongue had ceased to articu- 
late, his lips moved in prayer till within 
about two hours of his eternal rest ; and 
nearly the last words that could be un- 
derstood were, "Praise thee more and 
more ; Farewell ! farewell ! farewell ! 
Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." After 
this his breath became less difficult, and 
he seemed to fall into a gentle sleep till 
just as the clock began to strike twelve, 
when he peacefully heaved his last breath 



85 



without a struggle, and those who sat 
around him in solemn stillness could unite 
with his happy spirit, in the language of 
" Thanks be to God, who giveth us the 
victory through Jesus Christ the Lord." 

He died the 8th of 1st month, 1819, 
aged twenty-three years and nearly three 
months. 

The mortal remains were interred in 
the burial-ground at Marazion, on the 
first day week following, after a solemn 
Meeting, which was numerously attended 
by his relations and friends, and many 
others ; the hearts of the mourners receiv- 
ing on this occasion the most consoling 
support through that Faith and Hope, 
which remain to be as an anchor to the 
soul, both sure and steadfast. 



